'We’ll do what’s necessary to come up with a good solution,' says newly minted Treasury Board President Jane Philpott. If talks drag on, PSAC says it could use the upcoming federal election as another way to press the Liberal government.

PSAC national president Chris Aylward says the union would target areas such as the National Capital Region if it decides to take action against the Trudeau government in the 2019 election. About 40,000 of its 140,000 federal members live in the NCR, where the ridings are almost all Liberal. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The largest federal public sector union is considering holding a large demonstration to amp up the pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to give his negotiators the ability to offer a larger wage boost to 90,000 of its members.

Gerald Butts has removed himself from the daily political grind of strategizing how to keep the Liberals in power. But observers say it's unlikely he will be consigned to watch the campaign unfold from the sidelines.

SNC-Lavalin risks a takeover if it's convicted. But aside from likely outrage in Quebec, Ottawa can find other builders for its infrastructure plans if the company is banned from bidding on federal contracts, experts say

The Quebec company had extensive access to government ministers and top staffers, and was the only organization registered to lobby for allowing deferred prosecution agreements for white collar crimes.